Email devotion for 9/20

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence. And his children shall have refuge.  Proverbs 14:26 

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35

Our verse today from Romans sums up things very well. Christ loves us so much, that nothing can separate us from that love. Just think of all the things that can go wrong in life. We have times of sadness, of grief, depression and feelings of despair. There are days when it seems all has gone wrong, and the human temptation is just to dwell on how awful it all is.

That’s when this verse is so very helpful. It brings our focus back to our Creator, who created everything and called it good. Who loves each and every one of us that He sent His son Jesus to live among us. When we look at the list of things that Paul includes in his message to the Romans, we might see that our problems aren’t quite that bad. Most of us will have some hardship and distress, but we aren’t in a war area, or in the midst of a famine, or in direct peril. We don’t experience persecution as the Roman Christians were – but our distress is still very real.

What a comfort to know that, no matter what, there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love that Christ has for us. Absolutely nothing! When we feel alone, and separated from anyone that cares for us, we can remember that Jesus has promised to always be with us. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, will always be with us. If we feel separate from God, it is not God that as moved farther away from us, but rather we who have wandered off.  As the writer of Proverbs says, we can have strong confidence in the Lord and a refuge for all of us.

Gracious God, we praise you for your presence in our lives. Help us to know you, love you, and serve you. When we feel disconnected from you, please guide our hearts back to the truth, that nothing separates us from you. Thank you, God. Amen.

Chris Gabel